(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to formulations of inoculum of microorganisms.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Antagonistic fungi in several genera have been previously shown to effectively control plant disease caused by pathogenic fungi. Talaromyces flavus is used to control Verticillium wilt of eggplant which is caused by Verticillium dahliae (J. J. Marois, et al., 1982. Plant Disease 66:1166-1168). Since eggplant is usually subjected to transplanting, T. flavus is applied as a drench before transplanting takes place.
Potatoes and cotton are other examples of economically important crops which are also subject to V. dahliae. Since potatoes and cotton are both seeded directly into the field, the drench formulations are not practical. However, dust formulations of T. flavus have been used to treat potato seed pieces but this is inefficient because the dust easily blows away. In addition, the dust is not adequately distributed in the root zone where it is most needed to protect the roots from the pathogen.
Connick, Jr., (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,401,456 and 4,400,391) both disclose processes for incorporating chemical, non-living, bioactive materials in alginate gels. Connick, Jr., (4,401,456 and 4,400,391) discloses chemicals which are formulated to kill living matter. He also teaches the use of cations in the process, i.e. barium, copper, lead, zinc, all of which would be reasonably expected to kill any living fungi incorporated into the alginate gel.
The use of alginate gel technology to formulate agricultural products, pesticides and food items has also been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,053,627 describes the use of alginate gel discs for mosquito control, U.S. Pat. No. 3,649,239 discloses fertilizer compositions, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,441,729 teaches the use of alginate gels as insecticidal as well as candy jellies. None of these patents disclose any method for incorporating living materials or fungi into an alginate gel matrix.